Ben Howland fired by UCLA

UCLA head coach Ben Howland is being relieved of his coaching duties, and an official announcement is expected within the next 48 hours, according to Yahoo Sports.

The Bruins won the regular season Pac-12 title in 2012-13 and had one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, but fell well short of expectations with a first-round NCAA tournament loss to Minnesota.

Howland led the Bruins to a 25-10 record, but was perceived to have had an up and down season. He brought in a top recruiting class with freshman Jordan Adams, Shabazz Muhammad, and Tony Parker but the season just did not go as UCLA had hoped. The Bruins started the season ranked 13th in the nation and going out in the first round of the NCAA tournament did not live up to that billing.

While at UCLA, Howland compiled a 233-107 record and took the Bruins to three Final Fours. With all his success he could never win a national championship, and in the end that was held against him. Possible candidates to replace Howland include Shaka Smart, Brad Stevens, Billy Donovan, and Mark Gottfried.

Keenan Actkins

Keenan Actkins is an Arizona resident living in the Phoenix metropolitan area. He brings a wealth of sports knowledge and passion to the team with his unique insight and strong voice and opinion. He also contributes to Yahoo! Voices and has written for WoodyPaige.com.